Bernard morahan



(No Model.)

B. MORAHAN.

RANGE BOILER.

L 00 00 1 n0 0 8 D BU Ju n t n 9 LL. & P

STATES BERNARD MORAHAN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

RANGE-BOILER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 250,451, dated December6, 1881.

Application filed August 17, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom "it may concern Be it known that I, BERNARD MORAHAN, of NewYork city, in the county and State of New York, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements relating to Range-Boilers, of which thefollowing is a specification.

That I term aflrange-boiler is the commonly-known closed vesselconnected by pipes to the kitchen-range for heating water and delivering it, as required, through pipes for use. I make the rauge'boilerin pretty nearly the ordinary form-a tall upright vessel, circular inhorizontal section and with rounded or tapered ends. I mount it on aconvenient stand and connect it in the ordinary manner.

The material of the boiler is important. Iron is cheap and strong; butits tendency to rust is a serious objection and forbids the use of watertherefrom for washing clothes. Oopper is expensive when made ofsufficient thickness to afford adequate strength and stiffness. I makethe boiler of ceramic ware-a strong white ware-the same that l haveemployed in ceramic wash-tubs, now extensively used in the better classof houses. The material affords great strength and stiffness.

The accompanying drawings form a part of this specification, andrepresent what I consider the best means of carrying outthe invention. I

Figure l is a central vertical section through what I esteem thepreferable construction. Fig.2 is a corresponding section representing amodification.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both thefigures.

There are two classes of strains to which range-boilers aresubjected-one the expansive strain duetosteanisuddenlyengendered. Thiscan never become but a little greater than that due to the head of thewater in the street-main, because the steam generated in a boiler makesroom for itself by pressing on the surface of the water and forcing itback out of the boiler into the street-main. This relieves the boiler atthe expense of the coolness and purity of the supply to other houses. Itis easy to make thin-metal boilers resist this moderate expansivestrain. The other strain-that due to a sudden vacuum produced in aboiler-is more destructive. It causes a prompt collapse of thin metal ofany ordinary thickness. It is liable to occur under several conditions.One is after the boiler has become filled with steam which has forcedout the whole or a large portion of the water. On the return of thewater, whenever it occurs, cold water is presented to the steam,condensing all that remains. The strong vacuum thus induced collapsesthe boiler before the dense water can flow in through the small pipefrom the street to fill it.

My ceramic boiler resists the compressive strain due to a perfect vacuumin its interior. Its strength against that class of strain isunquestionable.

I can make the entire boiler in one piece, except a cover of moderatearea at one contracted end. The manufacture ofeeramic ware and theproper glazing and baking requires a considerable orifice somewhere. Iproduce it at the lower end and close it bya tight-fitting cover heldbya strong bolt, with peculiar provisions for expansion and contraction,as also to allow a slight separation of the cover from the main body torelieve the excess of pressure when steam is actively made.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1, and letters of reference thereon, Ais the main body of my boiler; A, the upper end, smoothly rounded; A aportion of the lower end, rounded in a form closely approximating tothat of the top, and a, a liberal opening in the center of the lowerend, which is closed by a tight-fitting cover, B, which I will describefarther on.

A is a flange formed on the boiler, and by which it is supported in asuitable casting, O. A rod, M, of iron or steel, covered with tin, zinc,copper, or brass to avoid iron rust, extends axially through, theboiler, having a broad head, M, at the top, nicely turned on its underface, and a screw-thread at the bottom receiving a nut, N. It will beunderstood that the rod extends through a hole at the top.

The joint is made tight by a soft washer, of rubber or other suitablematerial, fitted under the head M. The rod extends through a hole in thecover B, which is peculiarly formed and equipped. The upper portion ofthe hole is small. The lower portion, 1), is enlarged and tapered. Inthe lower portion, 1), is applied a thick ring of vulcanized rubber, sopr0portioned as to extend nearly, but not quite, to the contracted topof the cavity. A stout spiral spring, G, abutting against the nut N,acts IOC on the rubber'D through the medium of a thin plain washer, E,which may be of iron. The force urges the rubber I) strongly upward andcontracts it in the. tapering cavity 1). It compels it to form atightjoint against the tapering surfaces of the cavity b, and alsoinward against the surface of the bolt M.

The abutting faces of the parts A and B are ground, so as to tit tightlytogether. I introduce a thin washer of rubber between these surfaces, toincrease the certainty of a tight joint, cementing it permanently uponone of the surfaces of the partspreferably that of the cover B. Aturning of the nutN in one direction or the other adjusts the force withwh ch the spring G is urged upward, and consequently with which thecover B is held up. The changes oftemperature are liable to expand theaxial bolt or rod M to a greater or less extent than the boiler A A A AThe spring G must be sufficiently elastic to allow for such changes andmaintain a practically uniform force.

hen steam under any conditions causes an increase in the pressure in'theboiler, so as to require a vent, the same means which is available forother boilers may be applied here, allowing the water to be forcedoutward or backward against the pressure in the streetanain; but in casethat cannot sufficiently I'QllQVG the boiler the excess of pressure isallowed to depress the cover B against the force of the spring G, andthus afford relief, in the manner of a safety-valve. So soon as thepressure in the boiler is su'fficienlly reduced the joint is again tighty stopped by the rise of the cover B, due to the tension of the springG.

Thejunctions of the several pipes to the boiler may be of the ordinarynumber, and arranged in the ordinary manner, so as to circulate thewater, as usual, freely through pipes leading from the boiler to therange (not represented) and back again, and also to allow'the inductionof the water from the street, and in especial emergencies the educiionthereof by the same route, and, of course, to allow the communication ofthe water lrom the interior of the boiler to the system traversing thehouse or building. I employ the usual internal boil r, (not shown,)receiving cold water from a tank (not shown) at the top of the house, ata higher pressure than obtains in the rest of the boiler, and returningit at a correspondingly higher pressure after it is heated by thepresence of the surrounding hot water.

0 is a casting adapted to properly support the boiler, receiving itsflange A as shown.

By the employment of ceramic ware I avoid the fouling or contaminationof the water experienced by the standing of the water in a heatedcondition in the ordinary metallic boilers. No oxide of iron, copper, orother metal is formed to injure the water for either culinary or laundrypurposes. My boiler delivers it as pure as it comes in, simply raised intemperature.

Modifications may be made in the details. I can vary the length anddiameter of the boiler, as also the thickness, the form of the ends,size of the hole a, which is stopped by the cover B, &c. The insideboiler and its connections may be dispensed with.

Some of the advantages of the invention may be realized without thespring G.

Fig. 2 represents a modification to which I attach especial importance.In this figure the ceramic-ware boiler is provided with a flange, whichextends radially at its lower end, and is grasped by themetallic portionof the stand, as will be readily understood. The cover B,instead ofbeing held elastically by a rod through the center of the boiler, is frced up to its seat by an adjustable screw. The joint between the coverand the main body may be formed by a rubber gasket, as in the otherform, Fig.1.

In the form shown in Fig. 1, I can arrange the spring at the top insteadof at the bottom of the rod, and in such case can employ an ornamentalcasing over it to conceal it. I can put the cover B at the top insteadof the bottom. This modification may offer some advantages bydischarging steam instead of water in the rare event o'f.the jointopening to serve as a safety-valve, and the joint will ob viously beunder less pressure by the difference in the head of water.

I propose to fit up the rod M with a screwthread and a not at each end,and to tlatten the rod at one extremity, or at both extremities,tofacilitate holdingit while the nuts are adjusted.

\rVhere my cover is not arranged to yield, I can employ an ordinarysafety-valve loaded by a spring, or in any other convenient way, placedat the top, as a means or reliet' against other pressure.

I claim as my invention--- 1. A boiler of rigid material having theorifice a stopped by a cover, B, in combination with each other and withthe adjusting means N, and with provisions for tightly closing theorifice a, and for allowing for expansion and contraction, and for therelief action, as herein specified.

2. The cover B, having a tapering orifice. I), in combination with theelastic plug or contractile packing 1), rod M, spring G, and boiler A,arranged to maintain a tightjoint around the rod and allow a slightmovement of the parts, as herein specified.

3. The range-boiler described, composed of BERNARD MORAHAN.

Witnesses B. E. D. STAFFORD; CHARLES C. S'rETsoN.

IIO'

